Mo Mowlam dies

Friday 19 August 2005 06.04 EDT
First published on Friday 19 August 2005 06.04 EDT

Mo Mowlam, the former Northern Ireland secretary and one of the most popular Labour politicians of recent times, died today, aged 55.

Leading the tributes that poured in from the political world and beyond, the prime minister, Tony Blair, described her as "one of the most remarkable and colourful personalities" ever to enter British politics.

Ms Mowlam's health had deteriorated after her life support was withdrawn three days ago at the Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury, Kent and she died at 8.10am this morning.

She had not regained consciousness after hitting her head during a fall at her home earlier this month. She had been suffering from balance problems related to the radiotherapy she received after developing a brain tumour in 1997.

After her fall, she was taken to King's College Hospital in south London and was transferred last week to the hospice. She had earlier asked not to be resuscitated and in the last few days food and water were withdrawn.

There will be a private family funeral, followed by a public memorial service later in the year. Her hometown of Coventry has already announced it will inaugurate some form of public memorial to her.

A family spokesman this morning suggested well-wishers could make a donation to the hospice where she spent her final days.

Ms Mowlam is the second former cabinet minister to die in two weeks, following the sudden death of the former foreign secretary, Robin Cook.

Ms Mowlam stood down from the Commons at the 2001 general election after 14 years as the MP for Redcar, in Teesside.

Mr Blair made her Northern Ireland secretary when Labour swept to power in 1997 and she quickly made a name for herself as a down-to-earth and honest operator.

In his tribute today, Mr Blair said she had transformed the politics of Northern Ireland as well as playing a key role in the creation of New Labour.

She won widespread acclaim for her perseverance in working towards the Good Friday peace agreement in 1998. Her achievements were all the more remarkable because she was recovering from treatment for the brain tumour at the time.

Renowned for her light-hearted disregard of formality, kicking off her shoes and chewing gum in meetings, she reputedly took her wig off to break tension in tense talks.

Tributes came in this morning from across the political and geographical divide - from the opposition leaders at Westminster, the Irish taoiseach, the republican and nationalist parties, and from America, where she spent much of her youth.

Her friend, the Labour MP Stuart Bell, called her a "lioness" of the Labour party, and Michael Howard, the Conservative leader, said she "enriched the national life", while Neil Kinnock, the former Labour leader, called her "one hell of a woman".

John Prescott, the deputy prime minister, described her as "a force for good in British life".

Since her retirement, as well as holding a public lecture tour and writing her autobiography, Momentum, she had worked to promote cross faith education in Northern Ireland.

Clare Short, another iconoclastic Labour figure, said simply: "It seems so wrong that she is gone.

"Until her ill health, she was incredibly beautiful, she was mischievous, full of sparkle and a joy to be with. She had no airs and graces. She had a PhD, she was extremely intelligent, but she did not try to be a clever dick."